


Beside You

by LittleMaeChan



Category: Inazuma Eleven GO
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2019-11-21 15:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18144101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMaeChan/pseuds/LittleMaeChan
Summary: Kirino has been acting strange around Shindou lately, and their friendship has become somewhat strained because of it. At this point, Shindou is certain his best friend is hiding something from him, and something big. Will he be able to uncover the defender’s secret and restore their friendship back to how it was? Or perhaps... Become more intimate with him? (Shindou x Kirino) Tags & Rating may change! /!\





	1. Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers, welcome to this bittersweet Takuran/Rantaku fic! Takuran has always been one of my ultimate favourite ships, so obviously I just had to write something for them. Hopefully it turns out good :)
> 
> I know I already have a fic ongoing at the moment, and I do plan to continue working on it and to finish it. But to be completely honest, Shindou and Kirino have been on my mind for such a long time now, and I thought it was an occasion for me to write about them. So I hope you enjoy this fic, and happy reading ;)

"Alright everyone, give it your all in these last ten minutes!" Endou exclaimed loudly with a smile, his team cheering as after school practice was finally coming to an end. It was a beautiful sunny day after all—many of them were looking forward to go out with friends and enjoy the sunlight. Soccer was fun and all, just a little less when it came to practicing under the scorching heat of the summer sun. It seemed the only one who wasn't too bothered by it was Tenma—nothing could ever stop their captain from playing soccer, after all. However this year's summer seemed to be incredibly tough, and the managers couldn't help but worry—especially Akane—for the boys' health. Being under the sun for so long could only be bad for them; it was a miracle no one had suffered a heat stroke or even a sunburn yet. That luck was certainly not going to last long, though.

  
After everyone had finished running countless laps around the field, Kirino had distanced himself from his teammates to catch his breath. Everyone had begun forming groups to train together, but he stood aside. The defender's body felt abnormally heavy, and his chest tightened each time he inhaled. This was bad; he was at his limit. Perhaps skipping food this whole day was indeed a terrible idea.

  
"Kirino? Are you okay?" Blue met brown as Kirino's eyes flickered towards the direction of the familiar, worried voice. It was none other than Shindou, and a sigh escaped the pinkette's lips as the timing couldn't be any worse. Currently, the two had been in an awkward situation where they haven't argued, but they were clearly separated by something. Besides, Kirino didn't really want Shindou to see him in this state right now. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine, don't worry." The defender forced a weak smile, wiping away the beads of sweat forming on his forehead with the back of his hand. Shindou noticed how his legs trembled from exhaustion, and he could only frown at the recklessness of his best friend.

  
It all began when Kirino abruptly stopped walking home with him after school. Not only was that decision peculiar, but there was no explanation behind it. The brunet couldn't recall offending or acting wrongly towards him, which made it all the more confusing. But he accepted his choice, although it hurt him to. Then, things only got worse when Kirino started avoiding him whenever he had the chance; and that was the last straw. But when Shindou faced his best friend about his strange behaviour, the conversation was shorter than expected—it ended with Kirino making typical excuses accompanied with apologies. The problem was definitely not solved, and at this point Shindou was certain his best friend was hiding something from him.

  
"Um, I'm going to grab a drink…" The silence was broken by the pinkette's hoarse voice, his throat sore from its dryness. "Sure. Don't push yourself too hard, alright?" Both smiled briefly at each other before Kirino walked away towards the bench where the three managers sat. Shindou watched the pinkette's back as he walked away, a bitter sensation forming in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, so wrong. It hurt the brunet that Kirino wouldn't tell him what was on his mind—normally, they would always share their problems, worries and thoughts together. Ever since they were young, the pinkette had a talent in comforting Shindou, but when it came to comfort Kirino, Shindou would always struggle. It never stopped making the brunet feel so guilty to be unable to relieve his best friend from his sadness, but today will be different.

  
"Shindou-san, over here!"

"Oh, I'm coming!"

  
Shindou glanced one last time towards Kirino before running to join Tenma and his other teammates. The brunet clenched his teeth; this time he won't let Kirino run away anymore. It was stupid of him for not handling this situation more seriously beforehand—The one who has to apologize is him, really.  
But as Kirino and Shindou believed everyone ignored their inner turmoil, someone had watched their conversation from afar with a sly grin. It had been a while since he began observing them now, and perhaps today he was finally going to take action.

* * *

 "Great work everyone!"As Endou congratulated his team on another day of hard work, soccer practice finally came to an end. The sun continued shining just as harshly, and the occasional breeze brought a short relief to many. Everyone had worked together to clean up the field from the equipments, and cheerfully refreshed themselves with water and towels. Hamano laughed as Tenma was already all over Tsurugi, begging him to hang out with him along with Shinsuke this afternoon. The forward's cheeks were gradually reddening each time Tenma insisted, and eventually accepted to shut the brunet up. The two had become really close, and according to Midori's conspiracy, they were secretly going out. But that assumption was never confirmed to be true, although some of them believe it. Shindou watched them at a distance, smiling at Tenma cheering happily as he placed his small towel around his neck. His bronze irises however, were really searching for a certain pinkette who seemed to be nowhere to be found. Perhaps the defender was avoiding him again, but Shindou wasn't going to let him do that anymore.

  
"Oh, Shindou! Kirino wasn't feeling well, so Kariya brought him to the infirmary. Could you go check on him after changing?"  
Endou informed the brunet, tapping his shoulder kindly. "Of course, thanks for telling me." Shindou thanked his Coach before a terrible feeling washed over him. He didn't even notice Kirino leaving—with Kariya, too. At first, that blunet seemed to only cause trouble for his best friend, but he mysteriously calmed down from his pranks rather quickly. Shindou bit his lower lip anxiously—what if Kariya was trying to replace him as Kirino's closest friend? No, he shouldn't think that. Kariya wouldn't do something as such, and Kirino would never leave him behind like this. That was an unreasonable thought, and Shindou almost felt shameful for even thinking about it.

  
The brunet continued walking among his friends, but his footsteps slowed down as a weird gut-feeling told him something wasn't right. Back then, he could tell from just one glance the defender wasn't alright. Kirino could really be injured at the moment, for all he knew. The more Shindou thought about his friend being in pain, the more he wanted to see him. The ex-captain was a pinch too paranoid every now and then, but perhaps he wasn't exaggerating this time. As the team made their way towards the changing rooms, the brunet took his decision and began walking the opposite direction. He can always change into his uniform later, Kirino is his priority right now.

  
"Shindou-sama?" Akane whispered to herself, her violet orbs following Shindou as he walked the other way. Perhaps he was going to check on Kirino, and secretly, she wished she could go with him. The poor defender was in such a miserable state—Akane was afraid he would faint right here and there when he approached her. Luckily, she managed to convince him along with Aoi, Midori and Endou to bring him at the infirmary. But in the end, it was actually Kariya who kindly took him there. The blunet had heard their conversation, and offered to help which Endou and the managers accepted. Although, Akane hoped she could have come along, but she wasn't brave enough to even ask. Well, Kariya had always intimidated her a little, even now when he has stopped his pranks and grew more mature. There was just something she sensed in him that made her feel more bashful than usual, almost uncomfortable.

She hoped it was just her mind over-thinking.


	2. Sapphire & Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, welcome back! I'm not even going to mention how late of an update this is for a second chapter... But I'm a perferctionist, so it does take me a lot more time to finish chapters. (sorry!!)
> 
> But anyway, I hope you enjoy this second chapter, it was fun writing it ;) If you can, please tell me your thoughts it's always nice to get feedback! <3  
> Happy Reading~

Footsteps echoed in the deserted hallways of Raimon as two defenders clumsily made their way to the infirmary. Kirino was reluctant at first, but Kariya managed to convince him to rely on his shoulder for better balance—which resulted with the two occasionally giggling when they stumbled or didn’t go in the same direction. The pinkette was surprised he could laugh or even smile in his current state. But what was more surprising was the fact it was Kariya who was making him feel better—Not only was he cheering him up, but the blunet was also incredibly patient with his unsteady pace and was much more sympathetic than usual. Now, Kariya isn’t the worst person to know either—in Kirino’s opinion—but the younger teen was certainly a pain most of the time. It seemed ever since he joined Raimon, the blunet had taken a terrible liking in annoying his senpai with pranks and unnecessary remarks. Fortunately that mischievous behaviour of his improved over time, but that didn’t mean they were automatically better friends.

“We’re almost there!” Kariya grinned as he spotted the closed infirmary door, pointing towards it to somewhat encourage the older teen to keep walking. After all, it felt as if Kirino could faint in his arms at any minute so it relieved him as well to know they were nearby. They slowly approached the door, and Kariya bit his lower lip in anticipation as he rested his palm unto the door knob—and a large smile formed on his face as the room showed itself to be empty. There were no students and not even the nurse, just vacant white beds and flying curtains from the breeze coming out the windows. He could be alone with Kirino completely, and Kariya was certainly not going to miss on that opportunity.

“Sit there Senpai, I’ll get you some water.” The blunet gently plopped Kirino on one of the many white beds, his smile angel-like as he skipped towards the tap. The older teen thanked him weakly as he reached for his pounding head—maybe he wouldn’t be in such a state if he wasn’t so stupid and affected by these feelings which were only grew stronger. His heart betrayed him, and Kirino took the decision to suppress those emotions. Of course it hurt, it hurt the pinkette immensely; but his fear of rejection forced him to stay hidden. Luck was simply not on Kirino’s side these days. At least he had somewhat gotten closer to Kariya, which was completely unexpected. Kirino was in need of affection, and strangely the blunet was kindly giving it to him—but there was nothing more to it.

“There,” Kariya’s voice woke the pinkette up from his daydream, and the blunet was now standing before him holding a plastic cup in front of his face: “You must be really dehydrated, so make sure you drink lots.” He flashed another smile as the pinkette took the cup with both hands. Azure eyes followed Kariya’s small figure as the blunet walked away once again, Kirino’s curiosity at its peak. It did happen for Kariya to be kind towards the pinkette, but today the mood between them was so much different than usual—it was comforting. After drinking more than half of the water in the cup, Kirino could already tell that he was feeling better.

“Say, Senpai…” The blunet began, his back facing Kirino as he took out a small towel from a drawer. He turned on the tap once again, the pinkette watching him as he rubbed the white cloth under the cascade of water. “No actually, nevermind. Sorry.” Kariya spun around to face Kirino, a faint smile of remorse sitting on his lips. The pinkette raised an eyebrow as Kariya turned back to continue what he was doing— _now_ Kirino’s curiosity was at its peak. If the blunet wants to say something, he never hesitates even if he’s aware it might hurt someone. So the fact Kariya gave up speaking mid-sentence provoked Kirino’s curiosity more than anything. “You can tell me,” The pinkette spoke up softly as Kariya stopped the water from running. “Whatever it is, you can tell me Kariya.” Golden irises jumped onto Kirino as he finished his sentence, analysing his face, legs, hair, everything. Right now, there was only one word to describe the Kirino before him; Beautiful.

“Um, well…” Kariya hesitated, kneading the soaked towel above the sink. His eyes had drifted away from the pinkette to think seriously about what to say. Exchanging that brief eye-contact with Kirino was enough to make him lose himself for a couple seconds. Kirino finished drinking the contents of the cup as he waited patiently for the younger teen to speak out of what was on his mind. “Senpai, did you… Did you get in an argument with Shindou-senpai?” Kariya instantly noticed how the pinkette’s body stiffened as he pronounced his best friend’s name. His blue eyes were widened in surprise—Kirino wasn’t expecting that at all. The blunet began walking back towards Kirino with the damp towel in hand. The silence started to become uncomfortable as seconds ticked by.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t hav—” The pinkette shook his head side to side, the faintest smile displayed on his rosy lips. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I made you tell me what was on your mind after all…” Somehow, Kirino gathered the courage to look back at Kariya’s cat-like eyes who were curiously staring at him. After thinking about it, the pinkette thought it actually made some sense for Kariya to ask that question—although he did expect more to be someone like Tenma to ask it. His distance with Shindou must be so obvious to the team since they’re usually so close. But he could never tell the truth about his ‘strange behaviour’ to anyone; it’s that type of thing you keep to yourself and yourself alone.

“It’s really hot today, huh…?” Suddenly, Kirino felt a cold but soft sensation brushing against his cheek. It was the towel Kariya was holding, and he was rubbing it gently against his burning cheek. He was probably trying to change the subject after noticing it was hard for the pinkette to talk about Shindou. The situation wasn’t too strange until Kariya continued caressing more of Kirino’s face; his forehead, his other cheek and ears. It did feel refreshing, but Kirino couldn’t help but feel out of place with what was going on. The blunet’s behaviour was only becoming more and more odd, and Kirino was beginning to worry slightly.

“K-Kariya,” Kirino stumbled on the blunet’s name, trying to force himself to tell Kariya he could stop now. However, the younger defender said nothing and moved the towel so it would rest atop the pinkette’s lips. He proceeded to lean forward so their face were separated by only a small gap, tilting his head a little. Kirino could only stare back at the blunet who’s glare seemed to have darkened. Then his eyes widened bigger than ever when Kariya’s mouth stretched into a familiar, malicious grin. The pinkette had seen many of those on Kariya before, yet this one seemed much more twisted than the others. His heart pounded loudly from fear, and Kirino was afraid the blunet could be able to hear it. Right now, there was only one word to describe the Kariya before him; Terrorizing.

**“I know your secret, Senpai.”**

* * *

Shindou’s footsteps were fast and quiet as he walked onto the green field. This desire inside him grew more and more each time he took a step; if only he hadn’t been so ignorant towards Kirino’s feelings… In a minute's time, the brunet was approaching one of Raimon’s many entrances, his pace quickening unknowingly. His hand was in a tight fist while his mind was a complete and utter mess. Shindou always had trouble expressing himself well, so he was worried about what to say to Kirino. Which words should he use to be able to make Kirino at ease? How should he even start the conversation?

Endless questions raced inside Shindou’s mind as he finally entered the building, making his way towards the infirmary. Perhaps he could remind Kirino he can always rely on him, or that no matter what the problem is he will always support him? The questions continued, making Shindou as tense as a guitar string and completely lost. At this point he just wanted to see Kirino... Then, when turning at a corner of a hallway, the brunet accidentally bumped into someone. Luckily it wasn’t a violent hit, but the headbutt was hard enough to make Shindou step back. “I-I’m sorry, are you okay?” The brunet asked worryingly to the other person as his hand rested on his aching temple. But as his busy mind finally registered who was in front of him, his eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m alright, thanks… Oh, Shindou-senpai!” The blunet abruptly stopped rubbing his head as he saw the ex-captain before him. “Kariya? Aren’t you supposed to be with Kirino? Is he alright?” Kariya giggled as Shindou asked question after question, rapidly stepping closer to him for answers. “Yes, don’t worry he’s okay, or at least better. I left so he could rest and also find the nurse.” The brunet’s shoulders dropped down as he relaxed from hearing the defender’s words. Kariya smiled as he could tell he had relieved Shindou from a big weight, and also how ridiculously tense he was just seconds before. Shindou really cares for Kirino, huh. What a lovely bond these two share; it would be stupid to let it go to waste for a misunderstanding. “Thanks Kariya… Well, I’m going to check up on him.” The brunet said in a gentle voice, waving goodbye at the defender as he walked away.

“Yeah, see ya.” And without further ado, both teens made their way into different directions. Shindou was pretty much jogging into the empty hallway by now, almost at the infirmary. Somehow, he had managed to push most of his worries out of his mind and decided to simply go with the flow. He doesn’t need a script to talk to Kirino, neither does he need to torture himself mentally to be able to arrange things. Everything will be fine, he knows it.

Kariya on the other hand, had stopped walking and leaned unto the wall behind him. He sighed, yet a large smirk was plastered unto his lips—It seems he has reached the point of no returns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naughty Kariya *^*  
> Thanks for reading, see you next time!


	3. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, here is finally chapter 3! We begin with the unfinished conversation between Kariya and Kirino from Chapter 2 :3 (I promise this is Takuran lol)   
> I'd also like to thank the people who gave kudos to this fic, it's so sweet and it really encourages me to continue writing, so thank you so much! 
> 
> On this note, I hope you enjoy this chapter! ~

**“I know your secret, Senpai.”**

As soon as Kariya uttered those words, Kirino honestly believed his heart was going to explode right here and there.  _ My secret… _ There was no way Kariya could know, but his taunting gaze and confident composure screamed the complete opposite. It wasn’t as if the pinkette could hide those feelings forever, and he knew that—but Kariya to be the one to know out of all people was almost as frightening as Shindou finding out. Kirino had to shut him down now, otherwise his silence would give Kariya the answer he wants.

“What are you talking about?” The pinkette’s voice was still a little hoarse and hesitant, but he had gathered enough strength to push Kariya’s hand away from him. Surprised, Kariya blinked and took a step back—that move was so unexpected it even rid the defender of his intimidating grin. The blunet was sure Kirino had submitted to him after all, so that sudden spark of confidence was perplexing. His azure eyes had regained its fierce shine, and his posture had straightened with assurance. Unlike the other times, Kirino decided he wasn’t going to go down without a fight this time. He had let the blunet step over him a little too much, in his opinion. However when Kirino was about to consider Kariya’s silence as a victory, the blunet’s large smirk returned almost ten folds. “I like that expression you have Senpai,” The blunet chuckled; “It’s like one of a little puppy pretending to be stronger than it really is.”  

It was definitely the first time Kirino witnessed such a sinister look on Kariya, and he had seen plenty of them before. This wasn’t just playing around anymore—the blunet wanted to torment him, at least it seemed so. But Kirino wasn’t going to let him win. “You can talk about pretending; that’s all you do.” The pinkette hesitated, but the sharp words came out before he knew it. It isn’t Kirino’s thing to criticize other people—but enough is enough.

“Says the guy who pretends not to be crazy in love with his best friend… I think you’re pretty good at it too, Senpai.” Kirino gulped upon hearing those words, his cheeks unconsciously becoming redder by the minute. His blue eyes lowered to the ground in shame, at a loss for words— _ so he really does know _ . Yet even if his choice of words are quite embarrassing, Kariya is spot on. The pinkette loves Shindou so much it’s ridiculous. His thoughts are always occupied by him, and his eyes are constantly drawn to his handsome figure and his pretty brown curls. Kirino managed to keep it hidden for weeks now, and each day it becomes harder to keep this distance he has created between them. 

Now that he thinks about it, it’s obvious Kariya found out.

“It’s so funny to see you try to hide your feelings, Senpai. It only makes them more noticeable, y’know.” The younger teen continued, a small smile of content on his lips. Seeing Kirino in this state was nothing but entertaining for Kariya. Maybe he was going a little too far, but Kirino was simply too cute—a certain someone was way too lucky.

The pinkette bit his lower lip. “Just… Don’t tell anyone…” Kirino said quietly, his eyes still avoiding Kariya’s golden cat eyes. “You can make fun of me all you want… But keep all of that to yourself.” He anxiously fiddled with his hair, his posture now showing much less confidence. Of course it bothered him that Kariya was aware about his love for Shindou, but as long as the blunet kept his mouth shut, it should be fine. Kariya hummed as he looked up at the ceiling, his index finger touching his lower lip as if considering the older teen’s request. 

“Hmm, sure. But I’d like something in return.” 

“In return?” 

Kirino’s voice was hoarse with anger. That devil not only had great fun teasing him, but he wants something in return! And knowing him, it’s not going to be something nice or easy to do at all. “Well yeah, otherwise the deal isn’t fair, right?” Kariya flashed another of his fake, angelic smiles. “There’s plenty of things I’d like you to do though… Let me think about it. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”  A shiver ran down the pinkette’s back— _ plenty?  _ “Ugh, Fine. But keep your mouth shut until then, alright?” Kirino said nervously, remaining eye-contact with the blunet in order to seem more self-assured. 

“Okay then, it’s a deal~!” The pinkette hesitated to take Kariya’s hand because of his ear-to-ear smile, but he forced himself and shook hands with him. It was brief and tight, which didn’t reassure the pinkette at all.

Then without warning, the blunet swiftly leaned forward so his lips were mere millimeters away from Kirino’s ear. 

_ “I can’t wait.” _

And he rapidly stood back up as if nothing happened. Another shiver ran down Kirino’s spine, a cold sensation forming in the pit of his stomach. _What the actual hell._

“Well, I’m gonna take my leave,” Kariya said in a cheerful tone, and that sentence alone made Kirino nothing but happy. He thought that devil would never leave him alone. But as the blunet opened the door, he paused right before leaving;  

“Take care Senpai, see ya tomorrow!” 

And the door closed gently behind him.  _ What a real pain, that Kariya. _ He really scared Kirino back then, and not only with the subject he touched upon, but that glare of his. If the pinkette wasn’t so weak from exhaustion, he would have handled that situation much differently—and Kariya certainly knew that. He purposefully chose a time Kirino was the most vulnerable so it would be easier to take advantage of him. And he thought Kariya had made improvements with that sort of behaviour… It’s terrifying how much more intimidating he has become. 

“Ugh…” 

Kirino let himself drop unto the bed, his heart still recovering from what had just happened. The soft sheets almost made him want to slip into unconsciousness, but his anxiety kept him wide awake. He couldn’t stay here—the defender had stayed long enough. But leaving this room meant he had to interact with other people, and just that was too much of an effort right now. Hopefully everyone from the club had left by now—it would be incredibly awkward to face them right now,  _ especially _ Shindou. The pinkette couldn’t even imagine what he would do if he caught a single glimpse of Shindou. Run, probably.

But what could Kariya want him to do that badly? Just the thought of it frightened Kirino. It couldn’t be something  _ that _ bad, right?

* * *

It took a few painfully slow minutes for Kirino to stop torturing himself with his negative thoughts—he finally realised staying in this room would only drive him insane more than anything. He winced slightly as he slowly sat back up, rubbing the back of his stiff neck. His plan was simple; hurry back into the changing rooms, get his stuff and get. The. Fuck. Out.

That couldn’t be too hard… Right?

Standing up caused his dizziness to kick back in a little, and his legs began trembling as well. Kirino felt absolutely exhausted, so much he was already planning to take the day off tomorrow. He couldn’t wait to be at home and comfort himself with delicious vanilla ice cream—He definitely deserved it.

 

**“Tap, tap, tap…”**

 

However the sound of footsteps quickly torned Kirino's daydream with fear. They were light at first, but grew louder as they seemed to come closer to the door. The pinkette held his breath as he carefully listened to the footsteps—Maybe it was just a student getting something they forgot. Then they suddenly stopped, and the familiar silence returned. Kirino heavily sighed in relief, a small trace of a smile on his lips. Worrying about footsteps, that was quite unusual. At last the pinkette was finally about to grab the door knob, but to his surprise the door abruptly began opening by itself. Kirino completely stayed still, his blue eyes widening—and his blood almost stopped circulating as he saw who stood in front of him. 

“Sh-Shindou? Wh—what are you…?” His voice trembled as the handsome brown-haired musician was suddenly before him. They both briefly observed each other in silence, and for once, Kirino had trouble reading Shindou’s features—was he angry? Upset? The pinkette couldn’t tell the other’s emotions at all, and his first instinct was to take steps back as the brunet walked towards him.

“Kirino…!” 

Then, out of nowhere, Shindou grabbed Kirino into his arms. The pinkette leaned back as the ex-captain’s weight was almost thrown unto his weak body, his eyes wider than ever. His heart immediately began throbbing recklessly under Shindou’s tight yet gentle touch, his blood rushing to his head. All of this was simply too sudden for the defender to even begin processing the situation.

“I’m sorry Kirino… Please talk to me…” 

Shindou whispered with a pained voice, holding the pinkette a little tighter. Kirino could already feel the tears forming in his eyes—why was Shindou apologising? He had done absolutely nothing in all of this, it was Kirino who acted like a jerk and caused this mess between them. The pinkette wished he could get all these words out, to apologise. But they were all stuck in his dry throat, and sobs were what came out instead. 

“K-Kirino?” Shindou pulled himself back to examine the pinkette, and his eyes widened in worry—Kirino had turned awfully red with large tears falling down his cheeks. The pinkette tried endlessly to stop them with his hand, whimpers escaping his ruby lips.

“I’m so sorry, Kirino, I—” 

“N-No! You’re wrong, you’re wrong!”

The brunet was left speechless by his friend’s words, his hands still resting on the other’s slender shoulders. Kirino rarely ever cries, so when he does, it’s very worrying. Had he done something wrong? Since Shindou was quite bad with words at times and especially reassuring people, he believed his actions would speak louder and get his message across. Perhaps he was wrong, and he instantly regreted it. The defender was still struggling to speak, tear after tear rolling down his red cheeks. His emotions were all over the place, and Shindou was witnessing all of it. 

“I-I’m the idiot… You did nothing wrong, not at all... I’m sorry Shindou, sorry…” Although he tried his hardest to stop sobbing, the hot tears were seemingly endless. It made the pinkette unable to even make out Shindou’s face, which worried him more than anything. What kind of expression could the brunet have right now? Well, whatever it could be, Kirino was sure it was a beautiful one. But his tense muscles rapidly relaxed when the brunet pulled him closely again, hugging him reassuringly. 

“Stop apologising, Kirino… It’s okay now.” Shindou whispered calmly; “I knew something must have been on your mind for you to act this way.” 

“Shindou…” Kirino was slightly surprised by Shindou’s words—they were so soft and caring. After gathering enough courage inside him, the pinkette finally returned the embrace by placing his arms unto the brunet’s back. It had been such a long time since they’ve hugged like this, and the pinkette has terribly missed it. “Just a little more…” Without realising, Kirino muttered what he thought aloud—which almost caused him to have another heart attack. However the brunet replied with a nod, beginning to gently rub his back soothingly. The pinkette couldn’t help but grow incredibly flustered by his touch—after all Shindou is not a very tactile person, so this sudden physical contact from him was quite overwhelming. 

But it was so nice and thoughtful, Kirino could only be in pure bliss. This was definitely a hundred times better than his ice cream waiting at home. Closing his eyes, the pinkette left himself melt into Shindou’s warmth.

“Um, sorry to disturb you, but can I help you?” A familiar, feminine voice unexpectedly disrupted their moment, and the two teens swiftly pulled away from each other in surprise. It was the nurse— _ out of all moments, she just had to come now, _ the pinkette mentally complained. She smiled as the two blushed in embarrassment, although one was much redder than the other.

* * *

“You’re incredibly dehydrated Kirino-kun!”

The nurse exclaimed worryingly as she took a peek at the pinkette’s opened mouth. In the end, Shindou convinced him to get checked by the nurse; and it wasn’t pretty.

“You have to make sure to drink lots in this kind of weather, alright? Especially while doing sports! I’m surprised you haven’t fainted,” The woman continued scolding the defender as she kept examining him. It was a little embarrassing to get told off like this, but Kirino also believed it was definitely needed. Meanwhile, the brunet had filled a cup with fresh water and returned beside Kirino in order to give it to him.  _ Déjà-vu? _

“T-Thanks…” The pinkette stuttered, Shindou’s smile weakening him a little. The nurse had finally stopped her examination, and she switched her gaze from the defender to the midfielder.

“Shindou-kun, please keep an eye on him for me from now on.” The woman politely asked, and the pinkette almost choked on his water. “Of course,” Shindou replied with a little grin, looking back at Kirino who seemed slightly terrified. Just slightly. 

“Alright then, you’re free to go!” The nurse smiled. “Make sure to keep as cool as possible Kirino, okay?” She reminded him as he got up and finished drinking the cup of water. “Yeah, thanks for everything.” He smiled back at her, feeling refreshed and just so much better than before. Not only physically, but mentally as well—Shindou must have some sort of God-like healing powers. That hug was pretty magical after all, enough to make the pinkette blush just thinking about it again.

“Let’s go Kirino, it’s already quite late.” The brunet pointed out, and the two thanked the nurse one last time before leaving the room. She wished them a nice evening, and a smile lingered on her face as she saw the two walk together down the corridor. 

“Good luck, Kirino-kun…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayeee finally some of that sweet Shindou x Kirino amirite haha ;)  
> Thanks for reading!


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